TheDailyBeast.com: America's Fattest Cities

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Obesity is a national problem, but some areas of the country are in worse trouble than others. The Daily Beast crunches the numbers to figure out which large cities are battling the most bulge.

When it comes to obesity in America, the only consensus seems to be that it’s an undeniable and growing problem. Two thirds of adults and one third of children and adolescents are overweight or obese. But whether it’s an anti-obesity ad campaign targeting kids, or a scientific study regarding the best diet for weight maintenance in adults, the solution to the obesity epidemic is far from clear.

Some areas of the country, whether due to culture, weather, or some other factor, have more active and healthier citizens than others. The purpose of the list is to define which large metro areas—defined as having a population of more than 1 million—have the worst weight problem.

To compile the list of the fattest cities in America, we turned to Gallup’s Well-Being Index, one of the most comprehensive studies of American health and happiness. The study, published early last year, provides the percentage of the population that’s obese, as well as other integral health indicators such as frequency of exercise and diabetes prevalence, for more than 50 large metro areas. The locales were ranked based on obesity, but we listed other factors for reference.